Reducing Plastic Pollution by Recovery and Recycling: Evidence from a “Blue Economy” Project Impacting Policy-Making in Italy

Lorenzo Vassallo, Andrea Appolloni (), Chiara Fantauzzi and Rocco Frondizi
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Lorenzo Vassallo: Fondazione Angelo Vassallo Sindaco Pescatore, 00133 Roma, Italy
Andrea Appolloni: Department of Management and Law, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy
Chiara Fantauzzi: Department of Management and Law, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy
Rocco Frondizi: Department of Management and Law, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 8, 1-13

Abstract: This paper recognizes the relevance of the Seabed Cleaning Project, created by the Angelo Vassallo Sindaco Pescatore Foundation in 2010, and presents it as a tool to achieve benefits in environmental, social, and economic terms, in line with the innovative framework of the Blue Economy. The project suggests a practical, feasible, and scalable solution to plastic pollution that can be obtained thanks to the activity performed by fishermen in cooperation with the municipality and local community (in a multi-level cooperation perspective). The data show a significant reduction of plastic on the seafloor thanks to the project, but further research is needed in order to collect further positive outcomes from different applications of the project. In 2022, the “Salva Mare” Law was approved in the Senate, extending the good practices proposed by the Foundation nationwide and showing how small gestures and concrete actions can provide significant improvements in pursuit of a healthier, safer, greener, and smarter city for the future.

Keywords: blue economy; circular economy; collaborative economy; solving plastic pollution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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